Chandler company agrees to pay $80,000 fraud settlement

by Edythe Jensen - Dec. 20, 2010 05:38 PMThe Arizona Republic

A Chandler-based moving company that has been the target of dozens of customer complaints, unpaid court judgments and a civil fraud charge from the Arizona Attorney General's Office has agreed to pay $80,000 to settle the fraud suit.

Attorney General Terry Goddard announced the consent agreement Monday 12/20 with Allstar Moving & Storage, owner Mohamed Elsayed and general manager Amru Abdalla. The company at 550 E. Elliot Road also operates under the name Allways Moving & Storage but is not associated with Allstar Metro Movers in Glendale.

The state's suit claimed Allstar advertised flat hourly rates but routinely added hundreds of dollars to invoices. It says the company misrepresented that its moving crews were experienced when they weren't, that Allstar was bonded, which it isn't, and that it was insured. Allstar failed to disclose that such insurance would cover only a fraction of any damage to consumers' property up to 60 cents a pound.

Under the settlement agreement, $33,000 will pay restitution to eligible consumers; $37,000 is civil penalties and $10,000 is for investigation costs and attorneys' fees. The company must also change its advertising practices to disclose additional charges and accurate bonding and insurance status.

According to several incident reports filed with the Arizona Department of Weights and Measures, Allstar Moving employees would demand additional cash from customers above the original price and threaten to hold their belongings or drive away if they don't pay. The company has an "F" rating and more than 150 complaints with the Better Business Bureau over the past 36 months.

Shawn Marquez, director of compliance programs for Weights and Measures, said rogue moving companies are a serious state and national problem and his agency has been investigating them for years. There had been so many complaints against Allstar that his department routinely called in local law enforcement and stood by homes to oversee unloading.

"We are pleased to finally see some legal resolution" to this case, he said. "Our investigators have brought similar cases to the Attorney General's Office and we remain hopeful that this settlement is the first of many cases to be brought to justice."

Several efforts by The Republic since last year to contact Elsayed and Abdalla have been unsuccessful and company employees have repeatedly said the men are "out of the country." An employee who answered the phone at Allstar this week said Abdalla would be the only person who could respond to questions about the consent agreement and that his is "out of the country."

One of the victims, Georgia Tuminello, 60, said she received a letter nearly two months ago from Goddard's office notifying her of the settlement but there was no indication when she would receive compensation or how much.

She said Allstar charged her $1,900 to move six miles from Gilbert to Chandler earlier this year and demanded $50 cash tips for employees to unload the furniture then broke many of her belongings.

"They tore up my beautiful furniture, broke my fine china and wouldn't give me the name of their insurance company," she said. Tuminello won a $4,000 judgment against Allstar in justice court but has not been paid. "It would be nice to get the money so I can get my furniture repaired," she said.